Rakesh Kacker, secretary, ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI), Government of India, has said that there is need for transitioning from an era of regulation to self- regulation by the industry.
Addressing the inaugural session of the 7th National Food Safety and Quality Summit, organised by the CII-Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence here on Thursday, Kacker mentioned that preliminary discussions had been held between the industry and MoFPI. He added, "Quality Council of India has been tasked with developing a scheme in the coming six months in consultation with regulators, consumers, and the industry."
Kacker said that this scheme would ultimately need to be managed and funded by the industry. However, the ministry would support this with initial seed funding. This would be a voluntary scheme and would run in parallel to the existing statutory schemes laid by the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). It is intended to go beyond the current set of standards laid by the FSSA regime and would be focussed on self- regulation rather than regulation by any government agency.
He mentioned the role of MoFPI in supporting the development of infrastructure, like mega food parks, cold chain, and various financial assistance schemes through which the ministry supports both private and public organisations.
Kacker urged the Indian food and beverage manufacturing and retail industries for its support in taking the initiatives ahead.
Bruce Ross, country director, USFDA, India, remarked on the changing needs emerging as a result of globalisation. He stressed that changes in regulations, infrastructure, R&D, and supply-demand, have huge impact on the countries from where the food products are sourced. India and China are two major sourcing countries for USA.
With increasing demands from global supply chains and expanded trade boundaries there are added responsibilities to regulate supply chains. He also talked about the role which USFDA was playing in India and other countries, by developing global coalitions with regulators, private and public organisations for greater information-sharing platforms.
He mentioned the new food law in the US - FSMA (Food Safety Modernisation Act) -which would play a bigger role in regulating the food and drug supply chains in coming times.
Earlier, welcoming the secretary and the dignitaries on dais, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, chairman, CII National Council on Agriculture, drew the attention of the delegates to the fact that CII has been sensitising industry and consumers on GMP, HACCP and other international standards and has moved on to training through cluster models, supplier development initiative and institutionalising the CII Food Safety Awards towards capacity building. He stressed on the need to address the challenges faced on food safety by street food vendors. He opined that FDI in retail would also give a big boost to consumer demands by strengthening the supply chain network in the food sector.
